In the late 70s, Ducktape and I lived in the same general vicinity, in southwestern Virginia. I was a clerk in the only newsstand for 100 miles, which was quite the experience, let me tell you. I was the first female ever to work there and it took the guys months before they would buy their Playboys and Penthouses while I was at the register.

One day I was unpacking the daily delivery. On top were the National Enguirers, then layers of local, state and national newspapers, the girlie mags, and paperbacks underneath. I looked over the front page of the NE and stopped, shocked, at a by-line: It was a girl I’d gone to HS with! She’d worked on the school paper, she was a good writer and wrote more interesting stories than most. The first story of hers I read in the NE was a hoot, I almost broke my eyeballs rolling them: ‘I bought a used refrigerator that had a ghost inside”.

I haven’t thought about her in ages but this thread brought the memory bubbling up so I googled her. She used NE as a springboard, I see, eventually ending up as press officer for a UN Development program. She’s just written a bio. Wonder what she’s thinking of all the NE news? Cherie Hart (say Shuhree)

A co-worker of mine went to school with a Playmate of the Year. He didn't just tell us, he had to prove it. One day he brought in that annual edition of The Magazine, along with his high school yearbook. I asked him if he ever went on a date with her. Of course not, he replied. Kate: Which direction was the guy looking when he bought a copy? Certainly not into your eyes.

Here's how well AMI is doing... from this morning's POLITICO Playbook:

BEZOS BEAT -- “Before Bezos Fight, Enquirer Publisher AMI Faced Steep Losses,” by Bloomberg’s Shahien Nasiripour: “The publisher of the National Enquirer, currently under attack by Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos, has been facing steep financial losses that have left the once-loyal keeper of Donald Trump’s secrets with more than $1 billion in debt and a negative net worth.

“The closely held American Media Inc. -- led by the president’s longtime friend, David Pecker -- recorded a $31.5 million loss in the six months that ended Sept. 30, according to documents reviewed by Bloomberg. That marked an improvement over the previous year, but nonetheless brought the company’s total losses over the last 5 1/2 fiscal years to $256 million. AMI owed about $203 million more than its assets were worth.” Bloomberg

Here's how well AMI is doing... from this morning's POLITICO Playbook:

BEZOS BEAT -- “Before Bezos Fight, Enquirer Publisher AMI Faced Steep Losses,” by Bloomberg’s Shahien Nasiripour: “The publisher of the National Enquirer, currently under attack by Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos, has been facing steep financial losses that have left the once-loyal keeper of Donald Trump’s secrets with more than $1 billion in debt and a negative net worth.

“The closely held American Media Inc. -- led by the president’s longtime friend, David Pecker -- recorded a $31.5 million loss in the six months that ended Sept. 30, according to documents reviewed by Bloomberg. That marked an improvement over the previous year, but nonetheless brought the company’s total losses over the last 5 1/2 fiscal years to $256 million. AMI owed about $203 million more than its assets were worth.” Bloomberg

Sleazy reporting doesn't pay like it used to, eh?

BTW, here in Florida, the not-exactly-liberal Publix grocery chain keeps NE under a modesty cover (like I'd occasionally see in liquor stores selling Playboy). Apparently, during the 2016 campaign, they had so many complaints about the insane anti-Clinton stories, they decided to cover them up. It continues to this day and I smile every time I check out there.

You'd think with AMI in such severe financial distress, Bezos wouldn't even have to put in that much effort to topple them.

"There's no play here. There's no angle. There's no champagne room. I'm not a miracle worker, I'm a janitor. The math on this is simple; the smaller the mess, the easier it is for me to clean up." -Michael Clayton

I didn't realize they were in that deep of a hole, but I wish them well of it, may it get ever deeper!!! Or in other words Beezos will bury them. I keep wondering if they are hoping for an infusion of Saudi cash.

The fact that you sincerely and wholeheartedly believe that the “Law of Gravity” is unconstitutional and a violation of your sovereign rights, does not absolve you of adherence to it.

A class action suit by anyone who has a file in the secret vault would be a good way to destroy the company.

I'm waiting to see if Bezos is going to do to AMI what Peter Thiel did to Gawker: find someone to front for his war, somebody with a cause for a suit who will appeal to a sympathetic jury, hire the killer attorney, file the suit in a friendly venue, and win a judgment that forces AMI into bankruptcy. Then buy their assets and open the vaults.

OTOH, I'm sure there'd be a bidding war for those vaulted assets, and Pecker and his side would probably burn the whole thing to the ground rather than let it all be revealed to their discredit.

A class action suit by anyone who has a file in the secret vault would be a good way to destroy the company.

I'm waiting to see if Bezos is going to do to AMI what Peter Thiel did to Gawker: find someone to front for his war, somebody with a cause for a suit who will appeal to a sympathetic jury, hire the killer attorney, file the suit in a friendly venue, and win a judgment that forces AMI into bankruptcy. Then buy their assets and open the vaults.

OTOH, I'm sure there'd be a bidding war for those vaulted assets, and Pecker and his side would probably burn the whole thing to the ground rather than let it all be revealed to their discredit.

Played right they could be the subject of the most fun discovery EVER!

latimes.com wrote:Through an investment managed by a New Jersey hedge fund, California’s public pension fund appears to have owned as much as one-third of American Media Inc., the National Enquirer’s parent company, in 2016. It is not clear whether CalPERS continues to hold a major stake in the tabloid publisher.